I havent bought a Papa's pizza in years, since his employees accosted a friend of mine who stutters. He was ordering a pizza and the manager thought he was being a smart ass. He told my friend to get screwed* and f off. This was all before the health care debacle..

Sorry, the deal isn't clear to me. Is this 50% off anything on the menu with code "Pepsi50"? I have mixed feelings about buying PJ's pizza these days. I think the owner is being a petulant, whiny little b** railing and shaking his fist at the heavens because he's being forced to provide his workers with better living conditions, something any business owner with real integrity aspires to. On the other hand I know a lot of people who work for PJs and their livelihood depends on people continuing to buy pizza from this guy . It's a bit of a conundrum.

@necrix: If by "Don't support this horrible man" you are referring to the ONE manager who was rude to your friend at your ONE location, then fine I will pretend I know where that is and not buy from that one location. If you are talking about Papa John himself, then NO! I will continue to buy delicious pizza for 50% off sir, thank you very much.

Unless you reported this manager to the company and they didn't apologize for his behavior and offer you a free pizza, then it's irrational to chastise the company as a whole.

Why do people think it is the responsibility of the employer to take care of employees and provide a better living for them? People do not go into business to support their employees. They go into business to make money. If people think that working for Papa John's is not worth the pay or lack of benefits then they can work somewhere else. If Papa John's did not have employees because people were not willing to work for the wages they were offering or lack of benefits one of two things would happen. 1. They would goe out of business or 2. They would raise wages and benefits.

@flyingace81: I'm not sure why you are making political comments on a deals website. I think what people are saying is that the Papa John's CEO is an a@#hole...not that he should provide healthcare. The Papa is regularly making stupid comments and belittling his employees.

@flyingace81: It's not unreasonable to expect an employer to pay a decent wage and to provide benefits for full-time employees. how do you propose employees take care of themselves and their families otherwise? It has to come from somewhere. Have you tried paying for insurance on your own? It's extremely expensive for the individual, let alone a family.

From what I understand, the franchise would have to raise pizza prices by 12 cents to cover the costs. I don't know about you, but I would gladly pay that if it meant its employees weren't screwed over by the corporation for which they work.

As for going somewhere else... do you think people would work there if they could find somewhere better?

@peaceetc: Yeah, it does have to "come from somewhere" - like you maybe educating yourself or otherwise acquiring a skill that confers a good living, instead of expecting to roll out of bed and stumble in to a $35K a year job with a pension and bennies.

And the issue isn't a pizza going up in price by a dime, or a nickel or whatever. It when EVERYTHING goes up by a dime. That's when it starts hurting. And that's what's coming.

@mgherter: Wow, your assumptions about people are scary. How do you know people who work at such jobs aren't going to school or saving money to fund their education? How do you know those who do have educations are going to be able to find better jobs?

Nobody is saying Papa John's should provide $35k jobs or pensions. That's a silly notion. But paying their employees instead of knocking them down to part-time just to avoid doing what the law says... that's far worse than nickel and diming.

@peaceetc: Sounds like the company is working within the confines of the law as opposed to "avoid doing what the law says"; but then, I'm from the old-school type of thinking that if you can afford that cell phone with data & texting, that monthly cable / satellite service, and smoking / drinking / eating out / Starbucks, you can afford to pay for a yearly physical as well - or choose to spend your money on a private health insurance plan (MUCH cheaper than group rates). Hopefully, ALL the part-time minimum wage people are working their way through school so they can enjoy and appreciate the benefits of their labor.

@peaceetc: So should we just be sheep and ignore that adding a dime or a quarter to everything we buy is going to affect businesses, consumers and families? What's wrong with a business owner stating that the new health care law will make him do one of two things raise prices to his consumers or have fewer full time employees so he can stay in compliance of the law. If you find what Papa Johns does so repugnant you can always open your own pizzeria that provides as much full time work and full benefits as you see fit.

I have not gone to chik-fil-a since the Palin family made it the official restaurant of the Republican Party.
we have not ordered Papa Johns pizza since all of comments came out during the election. we stopped pshopping at Home Depot when we found out that the CEO was pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a super PAC fund against President Obama. If own a company or are in a high ranking position you should watch what you say because too many people are paying attention and listening and making their own decisions.

Wow. Some serious class warfare up in this piece.
Minimum wage was instituted to prevent employers from abusing people who need work to survive. If you'll do a job for 7 bucks an hour, I guarantee that someone else is willing to do it for 6, and someone even worse off is willing to do it for 5, and so on.
Some of the underlying assumptions here are that people are expecting handouts and not trying to better themselves. I think that's false, and life's circumstances are different for everyone. But consider if everyone in this country decided to pursue a doctorate level degree. Who would make our pizzas? Doctors. Earning minimum wage. You see, in our competitive free market, not everyone can be a winner. (That's the 'competitive' part) Someone has to lose.

Also, many of us take our national stability for granted. But as a history buff, let me tell you that: unhappy workforce + uncaring upper class + narrowing middle class + access to fire arms = revolution. People who get rich and don't care for their employees standard of living (and/or ship jobs overseas) are doing themselves and their country a disservice.
Also, I like pizza.

@omnichad: corporations bear some responsibility for leasing their image to people who won't tarnish their brand; I fully support this guy in lobbying against the entire corporation based on one bad apple. That said, I value cheap food.

I was in the individual market (healthy, 24 years old, male) and I paid as much as I do now (as a member of a group) for what was little more than catastrophic coverage. I still pay the whole thing myself, btw -- not subsidized by the gov or employer, but I have full coverage.

Group policies provide economies of scale to insurers. Insurers then negotiate cheap reimbursement rates b/c they "give" economies of scale to doctors. Individuals who can't get on a group policy are, as I understand it, f'ed.

@peaceetc: I propose employees take care of themselves and their families by learning a trade or skill that earns enough to support said family (or, if they can't, don't have the family). Is that unreasonable? I'm sorry but driving a pizza from one building to another isn't a trade or skill (I know, I did it for about 5 years - while I was learning a valuable skill). I have no sympathy for the fools still working there who just sat around in their free time. But, at the store where I worked, every one made more than minimum wage.

@greyham28: And how do you know that parent Papa Johns was even made aware of this injustice? Any terrible person can be hired. But they certainly aren't going to lose their jobs if no one is told about it. Start with proper channels, then move up to a boycott. You can't infer that they support this terrible manager just because that manager exists.

@wisenekt: So, your complaining that someone who is giving people more affordable food is somehow bad because he's being forced to to "deal" with an added burden to his business... which he employs thousands.

Yeah.. great argument. Mock the guy who makes his food cheaper for people.

I think if people don't like how PJ, as an employer, is treating them... then they may want to aspire to more than being an employee at a pizza place. If you don't like how much they pay, go somewhere that pays more. If you don't have the education or skills to go elsewhere, then don't blame PJ.

And, I think that those of you who whine about PJ raising prices to cover a new tax on his business (not yours), then you will have a great wake up call as you see prices rise on everything. You obviously don't understand that costly burdens on business (be it taxes, regulations, or other) eventually comes out of the consumers pocket. The average cost per gallon of milk right now is $3.52. In 2009 it was $3.04. It didn't go up because there are less diary cows.

Stop whining. Either buy their pizza, or don't. If you don't like how he runs his business, go start your own.

@peaceetc: Off the "backs of"? You sound like you're bathing in Kool Aid, bubba. You know John Schnatter started by delivering pizza, right? You know his first shops started by making no profit, and he built the business up from the ground, right?

On the backs of who? The ones he doesn't force to get paid by working for him, or the franchises? Give me a break.

EDIT: And, I'll note that if you don't think you're being "treated properly" as an employee.. go somewhere else. Aspire more to making pizza for someone else. Stop being a crybaby, and take your own life in your own hands. Nobody owes you anything.

@kmeltzer: Actually I was kind of laughing at irony of another deal for Papa Johns because I don't know of anyone that has paid full menu price for a pizza from there. Deals are used to drive customer traffic but when you have a deal every day, it loses it's luster.

Your cost of ingredients argument is valid because that is the nature of things. There was talk that prices were going to go up anyways because of the cost of the raw ingredients to make the pizza but all you heard was how the cost increase is due to the health care bill, not the normal cost of doing business. Healthcare could be a none factor but the price of milk and cheese goes up so costs have to increase. It just seems a little suspicious that news articles were talking about ingredient cost increase and all Papa Johns is talking about is healthcare.

@kmeltzer: "EDIT: And, I'll note that if you don't think you're being "treated properly" as an employee.. go somewhere else. Aspire more to making pizza for someone else. Stop being a crybaby, and take your own life in your own hands. Nobody owes you anything."

Would love to hear what you think about those folks that died in the garment factory fire. I'm pretty sure that they were at least owed a exit that was viable and fire extinguishers that worked. That was America just over 100 years ago. Don't like working in an unsafe environment, go somewhere else. Don't want to be worked 16 hours a day, 6 days a week, go somewhere else. Such a shame where everyplace is operating under the same procedures because that is what puts the most money back into the business.

Go for education and make more money and get benefits? That works well until everyone has the same education. 60 years ago you were golden with a high school diploma. 20-30 years a bachelors. What will it be in the next 5?

@peaceetc: So what is a fair wage for someone who built a business from one location his father co-owned to something that has employed tens of thousands of people, since you seem to know all the answers?

@wisenekt: Not everyone knows about the coupons. Seriously. I was amazed, but they don't. Most of the prices are "specials" which are really just regular price, since they are always the "special" price.

My point on the cost of things wasn't about ingredients. It's about how the prices of things go up because of the cost of doing business. It costs more to get milk to you (transport, fuel), so milk costs more. It costs more to get milk (electricity, feed, etc...) from a cow, so milk costs more. The farmer isn't eating the costs, the transporter isn't eating the costs and the store isn't eating the costs. The consumer is. The additional, mandated, tax is exactly the same as if fuel prices rise, or if regulations deem additional safety-widgets be installed in a factory. People mock him, but he's just being vocal about what everyone will be doing. Passing along his additional expense, to you.

@wisenekt: As for the fire in Bangladesh which I think you're referring to... I have no thoughts on it. There are risks in the workplace. And, what America was like 100 years ago has little to do with the basic fact that added costs are passed along to the end user.

I'm not sure how you think everyone would have the same education. I have a college degree and make good money. I know people who have high school diplomas and make good money. It's not always the education, it's the skill. Some skills mean schooling, some don't. But, if for you, delivering or making pizza for someone else isn't paying you enough or giving you a lifestyle you want, then figure out how to better yourself. People on random message boards saying someone doesn't "treat their employees well" needs to realize those employees are a) employed, which millions of others are not right now and b) have some personal responsibility to get themselves to where they want to be.

Well I love pizza for one, and PJ's serves better than anything I ever had in Italy. Maybe my palette isn't "sophisticated" but dang this stuff just rings the bell for me. If you're petulant enough to boycot a food establishment because you don't like the founder, then so be it. But please keep your politics to yourself you whiny turds. 50% off of regular menu prices is a good deal!

I like Papa Johns pizza, especially at this price. I don't care if he beats his wife, hires Chinese slave labor, or doesn't wear his seatbelt.
Are people at Dominos and Pizza Hut making 40k a year with free healthcare and paid vacations, I doubt it. People said that if Barry's healthcare bill was passed businesses would do this kind of thing and it was poo pooed by the people that wanted it passed. Now that it's happening they are all outraged. Remember Pelosi saying we have to pass it to know what's in it. Well now you are finding out what's in it.

@kmeltzer: Why do you see making pizzas as such a horrible profession? Through out most of history people made a living working at shops. Not every one can own a pizza chain. Some one has to make the pizzas, and if they do it well they should be rewarded with a pay check that will pay the bills, not have their hours cut so the CEO can add another 20 car garage to his mansion. I'm not taking it away from Jon for creating his business, he should be recognized for that and he surely can remember what it was like when he started. I'm sure he had plenty of people that gave him a helping hand when he started and he has the opportunity to do that now, but instead he is the one pulling the rug out from under their feet. He spends so much time giving things away to the customers, but what about a little customer service for his employees?

I clicked on this deal to express my disdain for how Poppa John treats his employees, but I have been sorely beaten to the punch by nearly everyone in this thread, so I will just ad to not forget to support guys like Jim Sinegal (head of Costco) who actually appreciates the value of his workers! They sell pizza by the slice dirt cheap there too wink

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